Panasonic's vision of the digital future is driven by the needs and aspirations of its business customers and millions of consumers around the world who use its products every day. The company shares their dream to live a fuller life by providing ways of working smarter and enjoying the rewards of technological advances.
Panasonic's 50-inch, big-screen PT-50DL54 reaps all the advantages of the company's third-generation Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology. The high-definition-capable projection monitor is poised to deliver the full impact of high-resolution digital images from a multitude of sources including DVD players, digital satellite receivers, DTV set-top boxes, personal computers, and even digital cameras via the set's SD Memory Card/PCMCIA Card slots and still-photo viewer.
The 16:9 widescreen PT-50DL54 displays HDTV input signal formats (1080i and 720p) as well as EDTV inputs (480p and 480i) when connected to an optional HDTV set-top box receiver, scaling 1080i images to suit its native 1,280 x 720 pixel resolution. The set uses Texas Instruments' HD2+ chip to attain a stunning contrast ratio of up to 2,500:1, rendering brilliant whites, deep blacks, and crisp, vivid color with great clarity.
The PT-50DL54 is surprisingly compact, is only 15.3 inches deep, and weighs just 87 pounds. An HDCP-protected HDMI interface permits the transfer of high-definition video and multichannel (surround-sound) audio over a single cable, which greatly simplifies the connection between the TV and source devices like set-top boxes, DVD players, and audio/video receivers. A pair of RGB PC inputs with XGA resolution display capability enable the set to serve as an ultra-high resolution PC monitor. The PT-50DL54 also offers 2-Tuner picture-in-picture with split-screen display capability so you can watch 2 programs at once or watch one while recording another.
DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology uses an optical semiconductor, known as the Digital Micromirror Device, or DMD chip to digitally manipulate light. The chip contains a rectangular array of up to 1.3 million microscopic mirrors, each of which measures less than 1/5 the width of a human hair. A DMD panel's micromirrors are mounted on tiny hinges that enable them to tilt either toward the light source (on) or away from it (off)--creating a light or dark pixel on the projection surface. The bit-streamed image code entering the semiconductor directs each mirror to switch on and off up to several thousand times per second, such that the mirrors can reflect pixels in up to 1,024 shades of gray.
The white light generated by the lamp passes through a color wheel as it travels to the surface of the DMD panel. The color wheel filters the light into red, green, and blue, from which a single-chip DLP projection system can create at least 16.7 million colors. The on and off states of each micromirror are coordinated with these three basic building blocks of color.
While some DLP-based monitors use conventional 7-segment color wheels, Panasonic uses a symmetrically designed 8-segment wheel, which significantly diminishes color-separation artifacts ("rainbow effect"), reduces flicker, and minimizes digital noise in dark areas of the picture.
Ten-bit A/D image processing boosts conventional grayscale gradations, producing 4 times as many shades of black and white as conventional sets. A pair of onboard NTSC tuners feature built-in progressive-scan converters that line-double conventional NTSC analog signals to 480p, enhancing the quality of today's standard TV broadcasts.
For audio, built-in surround-sound stereo speakers and BBE ViVA HD3D sound produce realistic, crystal-clear audio. BBE High Definition Sound System provides true linear phase correction and dynamic amplitude compensation, improving speech intelligibility and widening the dynamic range of musical passages.
Panasonic offers a newly redesigned optional matching floor stand, model TY-50DL54K, especially created to enhance the beauty of this display. Simple lines and open glass shelves give this stand a clean, sleek appearance which will complement any decor.
1 Opinion after one week of owning
Like some "big screen" buyers, I looked for a couple of weeks at most all the models. I mostly looked in the 50" size. I did not consider plasma because of the price. I boiled it down to DLP. Then down to Toshiba or Panasonic. In DLP Toshiba has the 46 or 52 and the 52 was a couple of hundred dollars higher than the Panasonic 50. My viewing area is exactly 10 feet back from the TV. They say 10' away is best for the 50" screen, 11 or 12 feet for a 52". Amazon beat the "big" stores price, plus no sales tax. And nobody was pushing the extended warranty at 3 or 4 hundred bucks. The salesmen make a nice commission on the extended warranty and tell you all kinds of horror stories to get you to buy it. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I don't buy extended warranties and haven't regretted it yet (knock on wood). Shipping only took 4 days. After owning for a week, I am happy with the purchase. HD is great. Regular (non-HD)TV on the set is OK, but not as good as my 32" CRT TV. That's why I kept my Toshiba 32" CRT-TV and put it in another room. But I think all big screen HD-TV's have this same problem of a so-so picture with standard TV reception. Maybe they will fix that someday, but I can't wait forever. DVD movies are great, but I recommend getting a DVD player with an HDMI connection (Toshiba SD-5970 or better). I have Brighthouse cable and went and got the HD cable box myself. Easy to hook-up and they supplied the cables. No need to pay big bucks for the fancy cables they try to sell you at the major electronics stores. Also, in reference to the "fan noise" people are mentioning, forget it. They must have some fantastic hearing, because I don't notice any at all except when I shut the TV off and the fan is cooling down the lamp. Even then, it's barely noticeable. Like I said, I've only had it for a week, but so far I'm happy with the Panasonic 50DL54.
2 I'm very happy with this TV
I spent about three months reviewing big HD TV's and settled on the 50" DLP from Panasonic. This is how and why I made my decision:
1. CRT Projection - Not considered.
2. Plasma - Very expensive for a good picture (prices vary all over, but to get a great picture at 50", your are looking at over $6,000 for a Pioneer). Issues with life, heat, and burn in. Only a must if you want to hang it on the wall (which creates an issue with cable management).
3. LCD Panel - Too small, issues with viewing angles and speed.
4. Micro Projection - This is DLP, LCD or LCOS: LCOS (HDILA from JVC) was out based on many poor reviews. DLP won out over LCD due to life and picture quality. LCD has pixelization, DLP does not but can suffer from a rainbow effect. I looked at many models and types and could not see the rainbox in the DLP's but could clearly see the pixelization in the LCD's. LCD wears out over time, DLP does not (both require bulb replacements).
Brand - For DLP's the choices are Toshiba, Samsung and Panasonic. I was leaning towards the Samsung HLP due to its form factor (much narrower than the others) until I Googled "samsung dlp problems" and found too many horror stories (mostly audio sync issues and early hour lamp failure). I did not find nearly as many complaints about Toshiba or Panasonic. The Toshiba and Panasonic looked nearly identical and I ended up getting the Panasonic as it was on sale at the time ($2,500 at American plus $130 for an extended warranty which did not include the bulb).
Size: I went with the 50" based on my viewing area being about 10' from the screen. Having lived with the TV for a few months now, I would have gone up to the 60." 50" is fine for SD, but in HD, more is better.
Living with it: The TV has given me no problems. No one that has watched it has seen the rainbow effect. I have experienced an audio sync issue only once and this was on a homemade DVD. The TV takes SD cards for viewing photos which is a nice feature. Sound is great and picture is great (including no glare, which was a huge issue in my viewing room before). Once you see something in HD, the SD looks pretty crummy.
About HD: Note that at this time there is very limited HD available via cable or satellite. Where I live the cable is through Mediacom which has NO HD at all. I am on the Dish Network where I receive Discovery, ESPN, TNT, HDNET and HD Movies (you can also get HBO and Showtime in HD for more $$). Direct TV has a similar package. Network HD is available from your local digital broadcasting tower, which means you need an antenna and a HD receiver to get these channels. I have a set of rabbit ears plugged into the back of my Dish HD receiver and am getting all local HD channels except for CBS (I have heard that you can get CBS HD via Dish with an exemption from your local CBS station). HD is absolutely stunning!
You can look at TitanTV.com to see if your local stations are broadcasting in HD. Go to antennaweb.org to see where the towers are in relation to your house and what type/size of antenna you will need to get the signals.
3 fantastic picture quality
after much research, trying to choose between a dlp, rear projection lcd, or plasma tv, I chose to go with dlp. The blacks seemed to be truest to the color and have the best range. I compared several different makers of dlp with hd2+ chip. I did not like the mitsubishi because of its protective screen. I considered samsung, panasonic and toshiba. The toshiba is a 52 inch screen, and has the most features, including a built in hdtv tuner, a cable card slot, reads all media cards, and a host of other functions. however, in three different store, the sd tv (non hdtv) looked a lot worse than panasonic. I was not crazy about the styling of samsung. so I went with panasonic. Been over all happy with it.
Pros:
Excellent picture quality for hd and sd
Sound quality is very good from the tv speakers
Remote control is fairly simple (although that can be a negative too)
Nice stand
Cons:
You can hear the fan running if you are close to tv, or once the tv is off (for a few seconds, as the fan continues to cool down the lamp)
The remote is somewhat limited in controlling other devices
Only accepts the sd card for slide show off of the digital camera
the vertical angle of view is only 30 degrees.
4 Best 50 inch dlp I've seen
I've had this tv for almost 2 months now. I'd like to first respond to one reviewer:
I've quoted the reviewer with >><<
>>when you turn on the TV , you will notice the fan noise from the projector lamp.. It sounds like the fan in the back of your PC, but a little more noticeable.. =[ .. <<
I haven't noticed any fan noise. no problem here
>>If you are planning on watching DVD's on this TV with a standard DVD player... THINK AGAIN !! You will have to buy a Denon DVD-1910 Single-disc DVD player with 720p/1081i DVI output in order to get a good picture !!<<
That's ridiculous. You don't have to buy any kind of special dvd player to get a good picture. You just need componenet video output or better, which is standard on almost every dvd player sold today
>>Anyway.. If you hook up your existing DVD player with an S-Video cable (Monster or not)! the picture quality is horrible !!<<
That is why the tv has HDMI and component inputs. Use the component inputs for dvd.
>>But you really do need to buy a DVD player that outputs in 1080i and upconverts the picture signal !! You can waste your money on a $170 Toshiba or Samsung Up convert DVD player.. <<
Again, that's ridiculous. Any dvd player with component output is fine. Just take off the stock "VIVID" picture setting on the tv and set it to the "CINEMA" setting
>>Also you don't need all the Monster cables , only an S-Video!! <<
S Video is not a great picture. Maybe that's why you're complaining about picture quality...
Now to my thoughts: I love this tv. I compared it to the Samsung HLP5063 and thought the Panasonic was the clear winner in picture quality. I didn't think the Samsung 5085 was worth the extra money either. It looked as good as the mitsubishi 525 series, too. This tv performs better than ones costing much more, so I went for it. I couldn't be happier. Even standard definition cable looks great, and HD sports is definitaly an amazing experience.
Highly recommended.
5 Great HD TV ..But a few drawbacks..
First off.. The TV is nice.. VERY NICE !! It weighs 87 lbs.. its 15.3 inches deep..But if you are like me, you will also find some issues with this TV. First, when you turn on the TV , you will notice the fan noise from the projector lamp.. It sounds like the fan in the back of your PC, but a little more noticeable.. =[ .. Second ... HDTV rocks !!! I mean it is flat out great !! I have seen other lcd TV's and In my opinion I think DLP is better.. The sounds is good too, but I am sure most ppl with get a home theatre system..Third.. It only has an HDMI not a DVI. I you are planning on watching DVD's on this TV with a standard DVD player... THINK AGAIN !! You will have to buy a Denon DVD-1910 Single-disc DVD player with 720p/1081i DVI output in order to get a good picture !! This is something that I have not read on any other review !!... =[ .. Anyway.. If you hook up your existing DVD player with an S-Video cable (Monster or not)! the picture quality is horrible !! I mean really poor.. If you use the other video outputs it gets a little better.. But you really do need to buy a DVD player that outputs in 1080i and upconverts the picture signal !! You can waste your money on a $170 Toshiba or Samsung Up convert DVD player.. But my advise is to spend the extra money and at least get the Denon DVD-1910.. you will need to get an extra HDMI to DVI cable and then some audio cables because DVI does not support audio like HDMI does.. Also you don't need all the Monster cables , only an S-Video!! You need to call your cable company and have them install an new HD box so you can watch the HD programming.. THEY WILL PROVIDE THE CABLES !! So dont waste your money until they hook it up !! FYI.. You can't watch HD Programming without an upgraded cable box !! Fourth .. The angle of the TV horizontally is a pretty big area of viewing before it gets dark.. However the vertical view is disappointing. I mounted the TV on top of my mantle and noticed pretty quickly that it had to be tilted... So before you buy this TV... make sure it will be eye level when you watch it... Lastly... enjoy HD!! Regular TV is not any better then on your old TV (probably more grainy and not as good as your old one) ..But watching any sporting event in HD is a religious experience!! What ever shortcomings the TV has... HD is great !!
6 Fantastic set at a great price!
I had been shopping for a big-screen TV for two years until I finally pulled the trigger on this set. If you are not familiar with DLP rear-projection technology, it allows for slim, light televisions with good brightness, reasonable viewing angles, and no burn-in at relatively low prices.
This set features what is currently the newest DLP technology from TI (the HD2+ chipset) along with an 8-segment color wheel. Television choice is highly subjective, but I compared the picture quality of this set to that of the equivalent Mitsubishi, Samsung, and Toshiba products and, for myself, found the Panasonic to be the best, along with the Mitsubishi. At the price offered by Amazon, it was a no-brainer.
With HD content, the picture is astounding. DVDs also look great. SD (or "regular") content looks dull and washed out, but no worse than any other TV of this size. The chassis itself also looks very nice. My only complaint is that there are not individual picture settings for the different video inputs, but this is minor considering the overall quality of the product.
7 For the moment (Fall 2004), DLP is the way to go!
My neighbor bought this TV from a retail store. Now, I'm over at his house every Sunday to watch football (and also Monday night).
Unlike the rear-projection LCD HDTVs, the DLP HDTVs are much slimmer in profile. Plus the picture quality is noticeably better than the LCD TVs. And at prices thousands less than plasma for an otherwise comparable TV, it's almost a no-brainer.
